


Dream (Of Me)

by childofmalin



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Dreams, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Not Beta Read, Therapy, Urban Fantasy, this is sort of an experiment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:27:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28749231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childofmalin/pseuds/childofmalin
Summary: Chenle has the same dream over and over again. Until something changes.
Relationships: Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Dream (Of Me)

**Author's Note:**

> So this was basically just me trying something out. 
> 
> I also want to add that I didn't do ANY research when it comes to dreaming, etc. And the therapy is also very inaccurate. I go to therapy myself, but it's really not like I portrayed it in this story lmao.
> 
> Disclaimer: The characters I used in the stories are ONLY inspired by the real owners of the names. I don't want to make ANYONE uncomfortable. Also, my intention is not to ship these people in real life or to assume their sexuality. Please keep that in mind!

When he looked outside the windows, it was dark. A whole lot of emptiness. No lights, no people, no nothing.  
It felt weird, but he kept walking through the train, the train that didn't seem to end. The lights in the train flickered every now and then, but he didn't mind.  
The train never stopped. It just kept on splitting the dark emptiness.  
He somehow felt at peace, being so lonely, walking without stopping.  
It felt like he was falling really slowly, almost flying, the air warm around him.  
It smelled like… It smelled like fruity bubble gum and fresh soap. How weirdly specific that was. The fragrance became obvious after his third or fourth time on this train, but he never knew where it came from.

Not until he saw the boy for the first time, sitting on one of the seats, silently looking out of the window. 

“When did he appear in your dreams for the first time?”  
“I can't really tell. Probably a week ago, or so?”  
“Before that, the train was always empty, right?”  
“Yes. No one was there before. It was like… I felt his presence, but I never actually saw him”  
“Interesting. Could you describe him for me please?”  
Describe him. He never catched a clear glimpse of him before. And he never dared to stop and look at him directly.  
“Chenle? You're spacing out again”  
“Uh… Right. Uhm- He's my age, I guess. Dark hair, dark eyes. He always has this unreadable expression on his face, it's like he's so deep in thoughts that he doesn't even notice me”  
“That means you've also never talked to him or had any kind of contact with this boy”  
“Yeah, I never did. Not yet. It feels like dream-me is waiting for something to happen”  
“Chenle, look. You're the first patient I have that continually dreams about walking through an empty train and that for… How long? Two months you said. That's not normal. I'm trying to help you find a way to make you escape that dream, but it seems like you've ignored all my suggestions. So, if you want it to stop, put that want into your dream. Make it stop with your own will. You told me you can control your dreams, so go talk to the boy next time, alright? Ask him how you can get off the train, for example. Maybe he can help”  
Chenle leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes for a few seconds.  
“I'll try”, he then said, his therapist sighing quietly.  
“Hey, if the dream doesn't actually bother you… I can't help you. Just tell me and we can sort it out”  
“Well, I told you before the dream in particular doesn't really bother me. I just… Always having the same dream seems like a message to me personally. Maybe my mind is trying to tell me something”  
“It is for sure. And I'm trying to find an answer, but I'm stumbling in the dark myself. I'm sorry”  
Chenle looked at his therapist, his black hair styled into an elegant side part, his glasses sitting on his perfect nose-bridge. He took a quick look at his silver wristwatch (probably very expensive).  
“Our session is over. Please try and use your powers in your dream. If it doesn't work, don't hesitate to call me. If it does, I'll see you next week”

Before Chenle went to bed, he watched a movie just like he always did. Then he got ready and checked his phone for one last time.  
His bed was warm and cozy. The blanket was soft and the pillows as well. It was never hard for Chenle to feel safe and peaceful in his bed. And it was never hard for him to fall asleep either.  
But something was just making him stay awake this night. A feeling in his guts.  
He knew this feeling was about his weird dream. He hadn't had one single night without dreaming about the train in so long. He wondered what would happen if he actually stopped dreaming about that. He wondered if something bad might happen to him then.

The familiar sound of the train rattling and the warm light made his legs move.  
He ran through the empty train, his eyes scanning the seats.  
It took a while until he spotted the boy again, but as soon as he did he froze on the spot.  
The boy was looking directly at him now.  
His expression was surprised, wide eyes and slightly parted lips.  
But he still did not say a word.  
Chenle slowly came closer, feeling his heart beating faster with every step he made towards the boy.  
He had a choice.  
And he was able to make that choice only while dreaming.  
“Who are you?”  
The boy seemed even more surprised by that question.  
“Don't you recognize me?”  
“No”  
Did he? It felt a little like he knew him.  
“I'm your soulmate”  
The boy, his alleged soulmate, said that without hesitation on his tongue.  
“I've been trying to talk to you, but your dream is really hard to control”  
“Wait, you're controlling my dreams?”  
The boy shook his head.  
“Not really. You are controlling most of it. That's the problem”  
“Why is that a problem? Isn't that a good thing?”  
“It makes our connection weaker. I can't get to you. You won't let me”  
“That makes no sense, I'm literally talking with you right now”  
“You're only talking to my dream persona”  
“Well I am also a dream version of myself, why does it matter?”  
“Because I want to get to your true self”  
“Okay? I promise I'll remember the dream, my true self will know everything we talk about right now”  
The boy's lips turned into a sweet smile.  
“Maybe. I hope so. Please let your true self know that I'm your soulmate”  
“But… What does that mean? Soulmates don't exist like this. Real life is not like a dream”  
“I know and that makes it so much harder. But we'll get there”  
The lights flickered a few times.  
“So, you'll wake up now”  
“What? No, I have a question-”  
“Good bye, soulmate. I'll see you next time”  
“Hey, I didn't get your na-”

Chenle woke up with a sweaty forehead.  
“I didn't get his name”, he whispered to himself and sighed. “My soulmate… As if that exists, huh”  
Dreams. They are weird in a way we can't explain. It might even drive someone insane. Not knowing what it means, not knowing what to do. If they're trying to tell you something or if it's just a lot of meaningless nonsense.  
Chenle rubbed his eyes and stood up. He should have gotten back to sleep, but he just couldn't. If he went back to sleep now he wouldn't dream again and he didn't want that.  
With a still very clouded mind he went into his kitchen to drink something.  
His apartment was relatively big. He came here after dropping out of college. Who needs college anyways. Chenle already had everything he wanted in life, he had a job, a handful of friends and a dog. What else did he need, honestly.  
A soulmate.  
Maybe.  
A best friend.  
Maybe.  
Someone he could tell his secrets to, his concerns, his problems and everything else.  
Just someone he could lie in bed with and talk to all night long. 

“He said he's your soulmate?”  
“Yeah. He said he wanted my real me to know”  
“He did? That is… Interesting. Is the boy familiar in any way? Any features of his face that you recognized, or anything like that?”  
“Well, he did seem familiar. Like someone I've seen before, I just don't know who and when. He could've been anyone”  
“That makes it more complicated indeed”  
There was a pause in the conversation.  
Chenle took the pen in front of him and played with it for a few seconds, before turning to his therapist, who was busy writing something down.  
“But at least you know his face now. Ask him for his name in the next dream. Try to get closer and you might find out where you know him from. At this point, your dream could mean anything. Lost memories most likely”  
“Lost memories…”

“Have you ever seen me before?”, Chenle asked the boy curiously.  
“Yes. I've seen you wander through the train many times before”  
“I've seen you before, too. Why do you never leave this seat?”  
“I don't need to. Besides, I like looking out of the window”  
“But it's literally pitch-black outside. There's nothing interesting to see”  
“Oh but there is. I see you”  
“You see me? How?”  
“I see you, walking in a train, talking to a boy and wondering what he's trying to tell you. That's all I need to see here”  
“You're weird. And kinda scary, too”  
“I'm just a part of you. A memory. I'm trying to get back to you, like I said before. I'm your soulmate, remember?  
Please remember.  
Don't forget”

Chenle woke up with a sweaty forehead and his heart beating fast once again.  
“What's his name… What's his name? God, why can't I remember his name”  
He sat up and took a few deep breaths before sinking back into his pillow. There was this memory in his head, a single one, but a clear one. Like it's been polished and cleaned just for Chenle to notice it again.  
It was of him riding on a train alone back when he was a child, looking out of the window. There was a family sitting next to him and one of the two children was his age. He looked at him with wide eyes. Staring at him like he was someone famous. But he didn't say a word, they just looked at each other for a while.  
But when he arrived and got off the train, his aunt picked him up from the train station and bought him ice cream, so Chenle forgot about the boy almost completely.  
Now he was lying in bed years later, trying to remember if he actually did talk to the boy, because there was a name on his tongue and it was heavy and familiar, he just… Didn't remember what it was.  
Frustrating.

“At least you know how he looks like now. And where you know him from. Possibly. How do you feel now? Do you think your dreams will change now that you're familiar with them?”  
“Yeah. And I'm honestly kind of afraid they will. It's weird… I always found some kind of comfort in them. And the boy never bothered me. I actually kind of liked him”  
“Maybe it's a sign. Maybe you should find him in real life and talk this out”  
“Mh, I wish I could…”  
“You can. If you set yourself this goal, everything is possible”  
Chenle stared at his fingers.  
“Everything is possible…”

Because it is.  
On a Sunday night, Chenle walked his dog through the city. It was snowing heavily, a thin layer of snow already covered the streets, the cars and the buildings. The air was fresh and cold and Chenle felt pretty good.  
Just as he thought about what to cook when he'd come back home, he spotted a boy on the other side of the street.  
He had black hair, longer in the back, that covered his eyes.  
And he was pretty tall, long legs and a slim figure.  
Weird. He looked kind of familiar.  
But when the realization hit Chenle, he was already gone. 

The train was going really fast.  
The lights were not only flickering every now and then, they were constantly going off and on, the seats flashing before his eyes.  
He had a hard time even standing still, so he started walking forward with shaky steps.  
There he was.  
Black hair, black clothes and so tall just like how he saw him in real life.  
He looked so different from his usual dream persona.  
Almost like Chenle needed to really see him in order to put the puzzle pieces together.  
“You can't come here anymore and you know that”  
“I don't care. I control my dreams, just like you told me. So, I come here whenever I want to”  
“Fair enough. But the dream is still falling apart. I'm… Changing. I won't be able to be here much longer, since you already saw me”  
“Wait, listen. Why? Why all this? Is it just my mind making up all this stuff or is it some weird mind of magic, or-”  
“That's up to you”  
“So it's only in my head”  
“Of course it is. My real life me doesn't even know you exist”  
“And how do you know that? You just said you're a part of my imagination”  
“Yes. That's exactly why said that”

“Daegal, come back!”  
He'd been chasing after his dog for about two minutes now.  
She usually always listened to him, but her little legs just didn't stop.  
Not until a person approached them from the other direction.  
Daegal stopped right in front of the figure and barked a few times before turning around.  
Chenle came to halt in front of the stranger and lifted Daegal up, his breath slowly calming.  
“Sorry, my dog never actually-”  
There it was. A look. A simple look as if he just recognizd the other.  
The long black hair, plump lips and his tall, slim figure. Chenle swallowed and gathered his thoughts as fast as he possibly could.  
“Uh… My dog usually never… Never runs… You know, she's just… I-”  
“It's okay. I'm… I was just surprised”  
“Yeah, sorry”  
There was an awkward moment of silence between them.  
Gosh, dreams were so different from real life in the end.  
“Wait, weren't you the lonely boy on the train?”  
“What?”  
Dream boy looked at him curiously.  
“Yeah, we were still kids back then, but you kind of look similar. I still remember you”  
Is there a chance-  
“You do? I-I remember you too. I actually… Did we like, talk or anything because I forgot your name”  
“I don't really remember that, no. But my name is-”  
“Jisung”  
Jisung. That's it. That's the name that weighed so heavily on Chenle's mind and tongue for days. It felt weird to finally be able to say it out loud.  
“H-how do you know my name?”  
Yeah, how did Chenle know his name? It just came out of nowhere.  
“I don't… I don't know, I guess I know a Jisung that looks similar to you”  
Lie. Bad lie on top of that.  
“Oh… Okay. Well, what's your name then?”  
“I'm Chenle”  
Jisung's eyes suddenly widened. He saw how his lips parted, how his expression changed from relaxed to almost alarmed.  
“Chenle. Weird”  
Chenle frowned.  
“How is that weird? I mean yeah, it's a Chinese name, but-”  
“No, it's just weird because I swear I've had dreams about you before”  
Chenle stared at him with a blank face. So it was true. They had found each other. In some really stupid, magic, fantasy, dream way Chenle would've never believed in but now he was here.  
“I think we have a lot to talk about”, Chenle whispered.  
“Yeah, I think so too”

Fate and soulmates were such made up bullshit. It just wasn't possible for two people to find each other and stay together for eternity just because they completed each other.  
So they thought.  
Until they grew old together and left this world hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> So are they romantically attached?  
> Answer: Not necessarily.  
> Are they in a relationship later on?  
> Answer: Maybe.  
> Are they going to be best friends?  
> Answer: Most definitely, yes!  
> Where's the kiss or the part where they get together?  
> Answer: I didn't add that part intentionally, because I didn't want the ship to be more than just friendship here. You can of course decide for yourself how their relationship ends, but I didn't want to write it. I support the ship irl, but only as friends. Chenle has also explicitly said that he's not into guys.


End file.
